Solar cells are sometimes mounted on a mechanical support structure which can tilt the solar cells at various angles to aim them at the sun as it moves across the sky and also rotate the solar cells to account for the position of the sun in the sky at different latitudes and during different seasons of the year. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,574,659; 7,374,137; and 4,290,411 all incorporated herein by this reference.
Such support structures usually include motorized drives which require electricity. The support structures and their controlling electronics can be expensive, cumbersome, and complicated. Transporting such support structures can be difficult and expensive, especially in situations where the solar cells are to be used temporarily, for example, in a military exercise or on a battlefield.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,618, incorporated herein by this reference, discloses a rigid detector or photovoltaic device supported by two pressurized supports. Depressurizing one support relative to the other varies the angle of the rigid detector. U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,298, incorporated herein by this reference, discloses a heliostat mirror supported on the free end of an inflatable bag. A system of cables and motors is used to change the orientation of the mirror. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0260620, also incorporated herein by this reference, discloses an inflatable concentrator.
The known prior art, however, fails to disclose a viable air supported structure for photovoltaic devices and solar power collection which meets the needs addressed by the invention.